Registered sex offender allegedly pays teen for sex
Published at | Updated at
This story includes graphic content that may be offensive or troubling to some readers. Discretion is advised.
AMMON — A convicted sex offender has been arrested for allegedly paying for a sexual encounter with a 15-year-old girl.
Jeremiah Ammon, 35, was arrested Friday and charged with felony lewd conduct with a child younger than 16, prostitution with a person younger than 18, enticing a child through the internet and child sexual exploitation by possessing sexually exploitative material.
In 2008, he was found guilty of felony sexual battery of a child. He was sent on a rider program and was later released. In 2009, Ammon violated his probation and was sent to serve his prison time of six years.
He was released on parole after completing the Idaho Department of Correction sex offender’s programming in April 2014 and has been supervised by probation and parole out of the Idaho Falls office.
According to police reports, investigators had been looking into prostitution ads on Craigslist. One ad in particular advertised providing sexual favors.
“I’ll do it for donation I’m very open minded (sic), but can’t host or travel,” the advertisement read.
Investigators later discovered the person behind the ad was a 15-year-old girl. She was later taken into custody for alleged prostitution.
Her phone was searched, and that’s when investigators suspected Ammon. Police discovered the teen had been in contact with more than 120 people, many of which she sent explicit pictures to. Ammon was one of those individuals, they said.
According to police, Ammon used his real name and was very persistent. He tried to see what the teen would agree to do sexually for the least amount of money. Ammon also sought to have the victim bring a friend to be part of the encounter.
The teen, upon request, sent Ammon several explicit photos and videos through text messages and Snapchat.
The two met up in late February, court records show. The teen told police that Ammon picked her up near her Firth home and drove her to his Bonneville County home, where she was paid to perform sexual acts. Although he made the attempt, Ammon told police he didn’t actually have sex with the girl due to his excessive body weight, according to court documents.
After the teen’s arrest, police used her phone to contact Ammon in an undercover capacity.
Ammon offered to pay cash and a used cell phone in exchange for sexual favors from two of the girl’s friends. Detectives, using the teen’s phone, said she was 15 and the girls were 14 and 15.
Ammon detailed multiple sexual acts he wanted the three teens to perform in exchange for the cash and the used phone, according to court records.
Police arrested Ammon when he drove to a prearranged place to pick up the teens. According to police reports, Ammon admitted to paying the 15-year-old for sexual favors, to possessing explicit photos and a video of her, and to attempting to pay for sexual favors from multiple female juveniles under 16.
Ammon is held on a $250,000 bond and has a preliminary hearing scheduled May 19. He will also face a parole-revocation hearing.